Fallen
by affTwill
Summary: Sometimes, skill isn't enough.
1. Chapter 1

I hated seeing her like this. The sickness only got worse even as she took more medicine. Little of the passing sunlight made it through the drawn blinds to our small room, but I could feel the day slipping away while I watched her sleep.

I looked down at my claws, as red as after any fight. How long had it been? We didn't even qualify to stay at pokemon centers anymore. Instead we lived out of a tiny hotel-room I could cross in two strides in a section of Castelia where even I feared what the humans might try. Riah didn't seem to care.

I approached the bed. Sweat drenched her thin top despite having the blankets thrown aside. She looked pale and gaunt, a shell of her once vibrant self. Nearly two months confined to bed had almost destroyed her.

I crept onto the bed, careful not to startle her awake but hoping I could. Sometimes I could barely wake her at all. Her chest rose in shallow breaths. Every day I feared that she may stop and never wake again. I bent to lick a drop of sweat from her hollow cheeks and attempted to nudge her awake.

"Zorrr," I rumbled in a low voice close to her ear. Other humans found my harsh tone intimidating, but Riah never had. Nothing. This time, I spoke in her language. "Riah."

I still remembered the first time I let her hear me try it.

Riah's eyes bulged, and she stopped dead in the middle of the path. "Did you just say my name?" and her face split into a wide smile. She slammed into me in a fierce hug, laughing like a madwoman. "That's incredible. How?"

I barely kept my feet, the nagging embarrassment at what I'd done quickly vanishing before her embrace.

She relented, large eyes as wide as her smile. "They didn't know what they'd done when they gave you to me. You're incredible."

I glowed at her praise.

Riah mumbled without opening her eyes. "Del?" She tried to brush me away, but her hand didn't have the strength behind it, and my soft coat rebuffed her. "What do you want?"

"Eat." I rarely spoke entire sentences. Single words were usually enough, and Riah always understood me, even before I could speak the human language.

She sighed as if she hadn't spent the last day and a half in bed. "There's some food for you in my pack. Don't have to ask."

I growled softly. "You."

She opened distant eyes this time and blinked against the darkness. "I'm not hungry."

During our rise to fame, other humans had fawned over Riah. Now her long black hair lay about her in tangles. Not enough light entered the room to shine off her days-unwashed locks. Even her familiar scent smelled stale.

"Besides, there's nothing. What's left is for you." She reached out with a trembling hand along the wall, feeling for the light-switch.

I flipped it on. "You eat."

Riah cringed against the wan light. "I said it's yours. You need to eat too. Besides, I told you, I'm not hungry." Illness hadn't taken her stubbornness.

"Wait." I leaned down to lick her face once more before rising. Riah's small satchel remained empty from the last time, and I took the room key from the table. I looked back before leaving. "Shower."

Riah had managed to prop herself up on her elbows, facing the bedsheets. She panted, looking ready to vomit. She grunted in reply.

Once outside the room, I wrapped myself in an illusion so others wouldn't notice me. The key and lock were awkward to operate with claws, but I managed. Leaving Riah alone even for a short time put me on edge. I wouldn't dare leave her with the door unlocked, not in this place.

The same yellowing lights illuminated the hallway, and the air smelled of mold and sweat. I hated this place, but Riah didn't have the money for anything else, not anymore. Pokemon centers offered rooms to trainers, but we lost our eligibility, and Castelia had more people than rooms at the best of times. Even her illness didn't give them an exception.

Dusk had fallen outside, and I scanned the empty street expectantly. Despite my invisibility, I felt a need to remain vigilant. This entire section of city seemed to house the sick – the rabid and unfortunate. I hurried, anxious to return to Riah.

The store I chose had aisles upon aisles of food. Riah explained the concept of money to me plenty of times. I still didn't understand. Why didn't someone help her? They could. No number of humans could eat all of the food that lined dozens of shelves. Why would they refuse to help one of their own? Why would the doctors turn her away, only trade her medicine for money? Couldn't they see she just needed to recover. Then we could fight again, earn the money they wanted.

I forced my fists to unclench. Too often I let those questions fuel a growing hatred for a species I once marveled at. Not all of them deserved disgust. Riah gave me everything. She at least deserved my awe.

I didn't take much. Some foods humans would only eat after cooking. I couldn't, and Riah hadn't since her sickness.

Freshly cut meats sat behind a glass barrier.

Riah pulled me by the wrist through the crowded store, heedless of the disapproving glances the other shoppers shot at us, me in particular. None of the other humans had pokemon out with them, and my large mane tended to brush against people.

She stopped before a section displaying various cuts of meat and fish. The display radiated cold air – a chill that carried the inviting scent of fresh blood. My mouth watered.

Riah spoke with a man at the counter. He wore white and carried a vicious wedge of metal with a razor-sharp edge. Riah called them employees. The one she spoke with retreated behind thick plastic door-coverings.

I leaned close to Riah's ear, wary of the humans. "Others."

"Ignore them. There's no rule against bringing you here. They're just jealous of your good looks." She rubbed the top of my head affectionately, and the man returned.

"Here you go. The best cut we had on hand, just like you requested." He handed over a parcel that looked wrapped in white paper. His eyes regarded me for a moment. "That's a rare pokemon you have, well behaved. You're Riah, right?"

She winked at him. "The one and only. Del here is amazing." Only half of her attention was on the conversation however. She cradled the parcel, eyes agleam. She nudged me after peeling back the taped paper. Ribbons of fat spidered the dark slabs of meat, almost enough to make them look pink. "One bite and you won't want to eat anything else for the rest of your life."

A human walked into me.

I dodged away from the confused human who looked around for what he'd run into. I'd lost myself looking through the clear barrier. Invisible or not, even the most distracted human would notice running into a solid object. Luckily, the man didn't make a scene and continued on, looking puzzled.

Invisibility made it easy to get in and out without needing money, and I took as little as possible to avoid suspicion. Bread, dried meat, some packaged pastries. I took a single Hondew berry. They were her favorite.

I slipped through the exit and back onto the streets of Castelia. The eerie quiet gave an ominous feel to the journey, and I felt watched despite my illusion. No one bothered me. The click of my claws against concrete echoed loudly in my sensitive ears.

The lock to our room gave me a moment of trouble, but once inside, the patter of water washing against tile greeted me. Humidity emphasized the moldy smell, but at least Riah dragged herself out of bed. I placed Riah's satchel next to the nightstand and entered the bathroom.

Riah hadn't bothered to draw the plastic sheet, and a small pool of water had formed next to the tub. I froze. Riah sat in the off-white tub with water crashing down across her body. Unmoving. Dead.

I didn't remember moving through the intervening space. I grabbed her shoulders, nicking her soft skin. She bled.

The motion brought Riah around, and she opened her eyes and spoke in a groggy voice. The water didn't phase her. "What are you doing?" Her chest rose and fell normally. She sat up a little straighter.

Relief and embarrassment vied for my attention. I mumbled in my gruff, inhuman voice. "Sorry. Food." I withdrew slightly, finally noticing the water soaking into my arms. Fur took forever to dry completely.

She grumbled something inaudible but leaned forward and gripped the sides of the tub. Her limbs looked so frail and atrophied. She paused amidst the rushing water and brought a hand to forehead before slumping forward.

I turned off the water and grabbed the towel off the sink. Water rolled off her skin, slightly flush from the heat. I dried her off the best I could while she sat in the tub, and helped her up. She rest most of her weight on me. I lifted her easily.

She let me lead her to bed, stumbling along. I laid her down on the lumpy mattress and crawled up next to her. Humans didn't have fur to keep them warm, probably why they didn't like being naked, and I hugged her flaccid body close to mine. Her naked skin felt balmy against me, but despite the heat of the shower and my mane covering her like a blanket, she shook in my arms. Water seeped from her wet hair into my soft chest tuft.

I clung desperately to her, uselessly. She refused to eat what little food we had because I might go hungry, even as she wasted away. And I could do nothing to make her better. I hated myself, and I clung to the only person I cared about, hoping that maybe tomorrow things would go back to how they were.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke early. Riah sat against the rickety headboard with her knees pulled to her chest. Despite the cool air in the room, a sheen of sweat covered her body. Sometime during the night she had tucked the blankets around me.

I rose and sidled up to her, nuzzling her cheek. She didn't respond, but slipped an arm around my head and pulled me to her chest before sinking her face into my soft mane. She clung desperately to me.

I let her hold me. If anything, I needed the comfort more than she, and her firm grip contained a shadow of her old confidence. I didn't understand her sickness, or what the human doctors had told her. They were all human troubles, and even had I asked, I doubt I'd understand. I was useless in this fight.

I touched Riah's side. "Dress." She felt cold despite the sweat.

She mumbled into my fur. "Why bother? I'm not going anywhere."

I licked at her collarbone, and Riah giggled weakly. I continued until she pushed me away.

"Fine. You win. Just give me a minute." She slumped backwards against the headboard.

I got off the bed in an attempt to help. A majority of the clothing spread about the room hadn't been washed, and was stained or jammed in one corner or another, too wrinkled to wear. On top of that, I didn't understand the complex rules for choosing clothing. Riah had only let me pick out her clothing once. She then refused to wear what I chose.

A relatively clean button-down hung across the back of the room's small chair.

"Just try it on! You only have to wear it for a second." Riah held out one of her shirts towards me, a light gray one with buttons all down the front. We sat at the edge of a small fire, Riah's tent already set up and the remains of our meal cleaned away.

I shook my head. "Fur."

Riah rolled her eyes. "Quit being so stubborn! Here, let me put it on for you." She advanced on me.

I tried to struggle, but what could I do? She grinned like an idiot while stuffing my arms into the constricting human garment. The cloth compressed the fur along my arms, pressing it the wrong way, and the collar didn't fit right. The tuft of fur on my chest filled out the shirt's chest, and once Riah fasted all the buttons, she stood back to take a look.

I could see the struggle on her face, a vain struggle to hide her amusement. She soon lost the battle and rolled back on the ground laughing hysterically. "Look at you!"

I felt like an idiot. "Off," I growled, but she didn't hear me over her raucous mirth. The shirt constricted my arms and chest, but hung free around my torso. I didn't dare tear her shirt, but I couldn't manage the tiny buttons with my claws. Trapped.

She regained her composure after a few minutes and sat up wiping the tears from her eyes. "That's too cute." Firelight glittered off her large brown eyes . She tackled me to the ground, careless of her shirt that still bound me. She whispered close to my ear. "Thank you for putting up with all my crap."

I took the shirt from the chair.

Somehow I felt that attempting to put the shirt on wouldn't get the same reaction as last time. Riah's patience wore thin quickly as of late. I touched her shoulder to get her attention and offered the shirt.

She took it with a muttered "thanks," putting it on but only fastening half the buttons, leaving the collar and bottom free. "Hey, Del? Why don't you get out of here for a few hours?" She stared at her feet while speaking. "Find a park, or, I don't know – do whatever you'd like. Get out in the sun."

"Zorrrr..." I tried to nuzzle up against her.

Riah pushed me away. "Don't be cute with me. You've spent the past few weeks at my side. It's not fair to you. Get away from this shit-hole." She looked on the verge of tears, and her voice quieted to little more than a whisper. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be fine."

Maybe she needed some time alone too. Riah never liked letting me see her cry. That didn't make leaving any easier. I prevented light from touching myself and left the room.

I didn't make it far. Without Riah, I felt lost. She liked the cities, not me. I leaned against the wall and slid down to sit across from our room. The carpet might have once been a vibrant criss-cross pattern, but years of uncleaned dirt had all but recolored it.

What now? I could go wander about, but I had no desire to visit one of the imitation forests, and a trip outside the city would take too long. And without Riah...

My claws balled into fists. I was useless. Not even five minutes without her and I turned into a whimpering lap-dog. I stood, intent on – what, following her instructions to roam the city? I was glad no other pokemon were around to see me.

I could visit one of the human hospitals. If I could force a doctor to help her – they'd probably blame Riah. Steal better medicine? Were there fights I could participate in without Riah? That might earn enough money to get us out of this place.

I sat for a while outside our room. A few humans walked by, carrying the stench of unwashed bodies and smoke, none of them the wiser of my presence. And then one of them stopped outside Riah's room. I didn't react out of shock.

A male – he had a tall, wiry build, and compared to most who wandered by, seemed more or less clean. He wore dark blue jeans and an impressively wrinkled black shirt that featured some human band. It featured what looked to be a pair of entwined Sevipers. I didn't see his face. The man knocked twice before entering the room. The door snapped shut behind him.

I leapt to my feet, heart pounding. Did I rush in? The human hadn't looked familiar, but I rarely paid them any attention. Did Riah know him? Did he plan to attack her? Rob us? Only muffled voices made it through the heavy door, and even pressing my ear to the paint-chipped surface didn't help.

Was this why Riah wanted me to leave? Dammit. I paced outside the door, barely remembering to keep myself hidden. No sounds of a struggle, no shouting. What if-

I laughed mirthlessly. Riah didn't need me. She always had everything under control. Time dragged by. The hallway had no source of natural light beyond the stagnant, sickly yellow bulbs. Without the sun visible, it could have been hours for all I knew, but I stayed.

Eventually the door opened, and the man walked out without a glance backward, as short-spoken as he entered. He didn't matter though.

I jumped to the door, claws on the handle, and waited to a waited for a hurried five count before creating an illusion around the door and easing it open. Riah sat on the bed, fiddling with the bag that contained her medicine. I breathed, not realizing I'd stopped. It hit me.

Riah's scent followed in the man's wake. Mixed with the pungent musk of sex. I stared. She sat on the edge of the bed, skin flush, naked. The shirt I gave her lay discarded in a crumpled heap on the floor.

I almost snapped the flimsy metal handle off the door. Anger set me into motion, unsure of where to strike. I closed the door. Riah wanted me to leave the hotel? Fine. I stalked off after the human. He'd already left, but that mocking trail, covered in my trainer's scent would lead right to him.

I barely saw where I was going. Why? Humans chose their mate carefully, or so I thought. So why him, why a person who looked like he belonged in these slums? And why hide it from me?

By the time I caught sight of him again, my whole body ached from the tension twisting my muscles into readiness, eager to strike at anything, to fight. No one else walked the street besides us. I could tear his head from that fleshy body before he made a sound. No one would see.

My right arm shook. That's the one I'd use. I'd barely notice the effort. I tried to slow my breath, to lessen my notice of the cloying scent. He'd never go near Riah again.

I tried to focus. I stalked the man, maybe a little carelessly, forgetting claws clicked on the rough cement walkway. He didn't seem to notice either way. Three quick strides and I could-

He turned off the street and into an alleyway. While not nice, it didn't have the same grimy look as most of the side-streets – not that it looked clean. The cracked asphalt didn't contain as much trash, and few yards in, a half doorway, half trapdoor, leaned at an angle against the brick wall. The man approached it and descended into the basement of the building.

The Warrens. That's what Riah had called them. A series of barely tolerated bars and brothels, all connected by underground halls. Castelia let them be for the most. It kept the scum contained and off the streets.

I stared at the heavy metal frame. The man's entrance only gave me a brief look at the inside of the door. Any illusion wouldn't fool someone looking directly at the door when I cast it. I snorted. Even a whole room full of the rats couldn't do anything to stop me.


End file.
